


Knowing You

by ryuuseirune



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26569489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryuuseirune/pseuds/ryuuseirune
Summary: Dylas gets uncomfortably close to figuring out who Lest likes. Lest is afraid of saying "I love you."
Relationships: Dylas (Rune Factory)/Lest (Rune Factory)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	Knowing You

**Author's Note:**

> because i think it would be nice to hear dylas say he loves us more often, and I've fallen in love with this game all over again.

Lest glanced at Dylas’s topless form, watching him cast his fishing rod into the lake. The late afternoon sun tinged the taller boy’s form a soft red – intimate and enticing like candlelight. A tug on the end of Lest’s own line jolted him out of his thoughts, and with a wide, clumsy yank, he reeled in his catch. He stumbled backwards as the hooked crucian carp came flying toward him, smacking him square in the face.

As he sat on his bottom, the wet grass beneath him undoubtedly dampening his swim trunks, he could hear Dylas chuckle. Lest peeled the wet, scaly flesh of the fish from his face. Lest felt his cheeks grow warm at the sound of Dylas’s laughter – an unsettling, tingly feeling fluttering in his chest.

“Stop it, you’re embarrassing me,” Lest complained, throwing the fish toward his companion. Dylas caught it with one hand, throwing it into their cooler with an uncharacteristically large smile.

“Maybe you should have thought twice before doing something so dumb,” Dylas retorted, rolling his eyes. He sauntered over to Lest, plopping down a few feet away. “I mean, seriously? I’ve seen you fish before – it’s not like you to make such a beginner mistake.”

A bead of sweat rolled down Dylas’s collarbone. Lest cast his line, averting his eyes. “I guess I zoned out a bit,” he admitted. “I’m just tired.”

In the corner of his eye, he could see Dylas frown. “Are you staying up late again? You know that’s not healthy.”

“Are you worried about me?” Lest smirked, the words smug on his lips. He still didn’t turn to face Dylas.

“No! It’s just…” Dylas hesitated. “You’ve been quiet lately. More than usual. It’s weird. Not bad, just… different.”

Lest made a mental note to himself.  _ Spend less time staring at Dylas’s abs and more time talking about anything other than Dylas’s abs.  _ He watched as the shadows beneath the surface of Dragon Lake began to shift toward his float. “There’s not much to talk about these days.”

It was true. Four years of knowing Dylas had certainly made all of Lest’s most interesting “get to know you” topics run dry, and Venti’s return had only made life more interesting for about a year. Now, all Lest did was farm and fish – not that he wasn’t enjoying the relaxation – but sometimes things felt  _ slow. _

“Are you unsatisfied here?” Dylas asked.

“No, I’m happy,” Lest replied, “I mean, all my friends are here, and Venti is home. What more could I possibly ask for? A lover?”

He regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth. Lest wasn’t even interested in anyone  _ except  _ Dylas - why would he even say that? As Lest scolded himself for bringing up the topic, Dylas frowned, staring out over the lake with disinterest. “You’re starting to sound like that dwarf. Always going on about girls.”

“Ah, about that,” Lest reeled in his line too quickly, his heart beating like hell. How should he phrase his lack of romantic interest in women? “I actually - um…” He gnawed the inside of his cheek with a bit too much vigor. “I like…”

“Listen, I don’t care who you like,” Dylas said gruffly, glaring at the water. “Why don’t you just tell her so much if you like her?”

“You’re still assuming I like women,” Lest huffed. “Well, I was  _ about _ to tell you that I like men. Romantically.”

Dylas didn’t respond immediately, but his angry expression slowly began to dissipate. “You what?” He reeled in his line, turning toward Lest with wide eyes.

“I like men,” Lest repeated. 

Dylas opened his mouth, as if to say something, and then shut it, as if he was reconsidering it. Lest stayed quiet for a few seconds to let Dylas think - but the silence felt unbearable.

“You don’t mind, do you?” he asked, gripping his fishing rod so hard he was worried it would snap in his hands.

“No! Of course not!” Dylas yelled back. The sound of water splashing made both of them wince - the fish were fleeing because of the loud noise, and they wouldn’t be back anytime soon. “Fuck,” he said under his breath. “Listen, Lest, I don’t mind at all. I’m really glad you told me,” Dylas’s eyes seemed softer than normal - like Lest was falling into them with every word. “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.”

Lest hoped he could blame his blush on sunburn. “Yeah, it’s… it’s no problem. Thanks for listening. I guess I should have said something earlier.”

“Does everyone know?” Dylas asked again, placing his rod to the side. 

“Dunno, I just figured they did,” Lest shrugged. “I never really was interested in any of the girls here, so…”

Dylas’s gaze felt like it was digging through him. “Did you… ever like anyone else here…?”

Lest internally panicked, but calmed himself enough to come up with a diversion. “I thought you said you didn’t care who I liked.”

“That’s…!” Dylas balled his hand up in a fist, looking away.

“Aw, Dylas, you really do care!” Lest teased, jumping to his feet so he was towering over Dylas’s sitting form. Quickly, and without thinking, Lest ruffled Dylas’s hair - which was  _ unbearably soft  _ \- ensuring that some of the long strands hung in front of his face. 

“What are you doing –!” Dylas let out a shocked and confused noise as Lest clambered away.

“See ya later!” he called over his shoulder, sprinting toward the castle and leaving Dylas behind in a hurry.

* * *

“He almost found me out, Venti,” Lest whispered, laying on his back in front of his friend. “He asked me if I liked anyone else here and I knew I had to run or he would  _ know _ it was him.”

“For someone so courageous, you can be such a scaredy-cat when it comes to matters of love,” the Native Dragon replied, adjusting her posture to better balance her wings. “Why don’t you just tell him?”

Lest shrugged. “For some reason, when I think about it, I get this weird feeling in my gut. Like everything’s gonna go wrong. I don’t know why, but… I don’t think I can tell him. Not yet.”

“Maybe you’re hungry,” Ventuswill suggested. “Did you eat yet?”

“Oh, crap,” Lest groaned, “I spent three hours fishing with Dylas to run away and leave him with the fish I caught for dinner.”

“So you’re gonna go back and get it, right?”

“No. I’ll just use whatever’s in the fridge,” Lest replied, getting to his feet. “I better start cooking now.”

“You can’t keep it hidden forever, Lest,” Ventuswill called after him. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“I know!” he yelled back, darting back into his room. 

Lest felt like a fool for telling Dylas about only liking men. It was clear that Dylas had never even considered the idea of Lest liking men – after all, he’d immediately assumed Lest was going to tell him about his crush on one of the girls in the village. If Lest hadn’t told Dylas, he wouldn’t have gotten so close to actually finding out Lest’s feelings. 

He didn’t know why he was so afraid. Perhaps something from his forgotten past made him so unsure about confessing. But even more daunting was the possibility of a lost friendship – something Lest wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle. Lest practically spent every day fishing with Dylas – and even back when he used to go out fighting, Dylas would always be willing to tag along. There was always something about seeing Dylas in action that made Lest feel drawn to him – perhaps it was that will of his, his self-sacrificing demeanor: the desire to always push forward, no matter what was at stake. Dylas always had that.

Lest, on the other hand, didn’t know if he could put their friendship at stake over something so tiny as a crush. He’d only liked Dylas since the day Dylas asked him to smile and they went around asking others to smile - when had that been? Lest thought back…

That was at least three years ago. Lest had been in love with Dylas for three years. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a crush. Maybe Lest really liked Dylas. Maybe Lest  _ really  _ wanted Dylas to like him back. 

He crouched onto the floor, holding his head in his hands. “What do I do?” he whispered to himself. “Why can’t I say it properly?”

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts – and quickly, Lest scrambled to his feet. Checking the time, it was about nine PM – about time for Vishnal to pick up the paperwork. He strided over to the door, pulling it open with a bright smile on his face.

“Hey, Vish- Dylas?” Lest sputtered at the sight of his crush, stepping back in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“You forgot to bring your fish with you a few hours ago,” Dylas replied, shifting onto his right foot, “...So, I made sashimi for you. I hope that’s okay.”

Lest stood there, shocked. “I - yeah! Thank you!” he said, not sure how to react. “Sorry… for running off.”

“Why’d you run?” Dylas asked, tilting his head. Lest slowly began to shut the door on him, but Dylas caught it, frowning. “Lest, seriously. If I did something wrong… I need you to tell me.”

“No!” Lest shouted. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just…”

“You just…?”

“There are some things you don’t need to know about me,” Lest sighed, staring down at his feet. “...Mostly for my own protection. It’s not your fault.”

Dylas shook his head. “I want to know, Lest. I won’t hate you for anything, you know. If this is about what we talked about at the lake – I won’t resent you for it. I promise.”

Lest’s stomach churned as he stared at the floor, unable to look at Dylas’s expression. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

He hesitated for a few seconds, shuffling backwards to let the door swing more open. “Do you want to come in?”

Dylas followed Lest into his chambers, both shrouded in an uncomfortable silence. Lest sat on the edge of his bed as Dylas faced him, standing with his arms crossed expectantly. It felt like the world was evaporating – the hot summer heat flooded all of his senses, disorienting him enough to heighten his heartbeat.

“What did you want to say to me?” Dylas asked, fiddling with his sleeves. It was clear that their situation made him feel nervous too – a comfort to Lest as he mentally prepared to confess.

“Hold on, I need to get my thoughts together,” Lest said, closing his eyes.

“Okay,” Dylas said.

It took Lest a total of three seconds to open his eyes and stand up. Then he opened his mouth and began to form words and sounds with his mouth.

“I like… men,” Lest said slowly. Dylas nodded, waiting for him to continue. Lest gave him a panicked smile. “I also like… I don’t think I can do this.”

“Lest–”

“I like you!” he yelled, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt all of the breath escape his lungs.

“What?”

Lest could feel his heart shrinking in on himself. Dylas sounded… shocked. Almost horrified, even. He could feel the tears pricking at his eyes already.

“I really love you,” Lest whispered this time. “Are you happy now that you know?”

Warm arms wrapped around his form, stopping his violent shaking. Dylas pressed Lest’s head into his chest, cradling him with such tenderness that Lest’s whole world began to melt away. 

“Of course I am,” Dylas choked out, his voice strained. Lest could tell he was sobbing too. “I love you – I’ve loved you for years, idiot,” he said, gliding a hand through Lest’s blonde hair.

“Oh god, is this real?” Lest hiccuped. “Because if this is a hunger-induced hallucination I’m going to cry so hard tomorrow morning.”

Dylas pulled back to look at Lest, eyes warm and filled with a powerful sense of delight. Lest could feel his heart soar as Dylas leaned in for a chaste kiss – one that tasted like soy sauce and wasabi. He laughed against Dylas’s lips.

“It’s real,” Lest cried. “It’s real. I love you so much.”

Dylas pulled him in for another kiss – this time shutting him up for longer.

**Author's Note:**

> i picked my name, rune, from a list of gender-neutral names because i recognized it as a segment of my favorite video game. this fandom needs more love, and i don't think i can properly express how much i adore the characters in this game without having a full-on mental breakdown. thank you to those who still create content for this fandom - i appreciate you so much. i hope my contribution will mean something to someone else out there.
> 
> i'm a gay trans man who likes dylas and romanced him my second time playing this game. i really think dylas/lest is the softest shit ever. love em so much... cries in warm


End file.
